So... it's August already. How on earth did that happen?... I honestly don't know what becomes of one week, and then the next, and then the next... It's scary, when I actually stop to think about it. I almost want to get laid off already, so I actually have time to think and decide what to do next - but then, I am very afraid of not having a steady source of income for more than a few weeks. My savings are not what they used to be the last time they laid me off - to put it mildly. So of course my anxiety level about it is much higher now. At the same time, I feel increasingly sick and tired of getting up at 7 a.m. every day and being gone until at least 7 p.m. And spending roughly two hours a day in traffic. ( What kind of a life is it, really?... )

It's been forever since I made a fandom-related post, it seems. And there is something I just can't resist bragging about. I actually won an award for matching up authors and stories in the recent A/L ficathon over at legolasaragorn. It was a 'gift exchange' ficathon and the stories were posted anonymously, so that the readers could try their luck at guessing the author of any given fic. I made SEVEN correct guesses in all - some random, some thanks to hints I was graciously given, and some pretty obvious to everyone, I suppose - but since no one else came forth with that many matches, I was the winner.:D And I received a very beautiful gift in acknowledgement. A t-shirt from CafePress with a gorgeous design on it. I just can't stop staring at it... LOL. It's currently hanging over my kitchen door - and since it looks much better on a hanger than it does on me anyway, I just might keep it there permanently as a decoration.;P

( Here's the pretty. )

So... it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. Everyone is getting ready for the party. The grills are all set up, laughing children running around, music blaring from open windows. The weather is gorgeous: warm & sunny, but not hot, with a cool, refreshing breeze and the sky so deeply blue it almost reminds me of the Mediterranean. I took a delightful 90-minute walk in the early afternoon, along the little back streets full of greenery and tiny, worn-out-but-charming houses nestled in the shade of their private gardens. It's a low-profile, shabby neighborhood, and most of the families chilling out on their front steps & porches are either Hispanic or Asian, with a small handful of Orthodox Jews thrown in for good measure. Traditional clothing of disparate geographical origins is well in evidence. You can pass by a mosque, a few different Christian churches and a synagogue, all within an hour's leisurely stroll. You can hear at least five different languages in the same time-frame as well. Just your average urban/suburban global village.:) ( And it feels somehow weirdly appropriate for me to be planted here: a stranger among strangers. )

Swiped from gairid and rainweaver13:

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Unerline the ones you loved.

( 100 books under the cut )

We had another one of those meetings at work today, where they give us updates on the whole outsourcing process going on across all the companies owned by Nielsen (who bought us soon after I was hired). And they said that even though at this point they still don't know how many people will be laid off, we can expect to find out who goes & who stays by early September - if not sooner than that. So much for it NOT happening this year. *sigh* And since they have aready determined that a large part of our data processing can be safely & conveniently transferred over to that consulting company in India, the likelihood of 'bottom level' employees like me getting to stay is very low indeed. Yes, I know there are only three of us dealing with International Media Guides, and they might want to keep at least one person on site in charge of that particular section of our products - but then, I am the one most recently hired = least experienced of the three, so it's not a big stretch to imagine I would be the first one out the door. ( I don't think it's even a 'possibility' at this point any more - it's pretty much a given. )

Sorry. I guess I needed to vent a little. At least this journal is still good for something - since recently I don't seem to have much to say, unless I'm either worried or pissed off (or both, as happens to be the case right now). There's nothing like verbal autotherapy, lol. *a rueful headshake, closely followed by a yawn*

I have this irresistible urge to post something today. Namely, the link to my sister's new website: http://www.magdalenaalmy.com. She just shared it with me, since she's been working on putting it together to promote herself as an artist. I think it's gorgeous. And since it's an open website, available to the public, I have no qualms about flaunting it here.:) I am insanely proud of her, despite the fact that we don't see eye to eye on many issues (politics and religion, most importantly, as anyone who has been following this journal knows already - but let's leave that painful topic alone for the moment). Sometimes I think she was simply born in the wrong century - and if you take a look at her art, you will understand what I mean. There are many contradictions about her, and she is a mystery even to me sometimes, though I know her better than most people. But whatever else there is behind the carefully created 'public image' you will see on the 'Bio' page, there is definitely immense artistic potential. And I'm not saying this because she's my sister. Anyway... feel welcome to browse, or even contact her if you are so inclined (she is trying to sell her art, after all) - just don't tell her you found the link in my LJ, since she doesn't know I have one.:P And I'd rather keep it that way for now, not being sure how she would feel about some of the things I post here (the slash, for one; as well as any mentions of her & her ideological outlook, obviously). But you may, of course, say that you are a friend of mine and that I told you about the website - that would be, indeed, most welcome (just don't mention the name Floating Leaf, since she has no idea who that is :P). Or just take a lurker's look around and tell me what you think.:)

Summer is here. It is hot and stuffy, and after the endless winter and brief & reluctant spring we had this year, it feels unreal. So unreal, in fact, that I am keeping my windows open to let in the breeze, even though the breeze is warm and sticky. The A/C can wait. I have a fan, and freshly made ice cubes in the freezer (chilled wine would be heavenly just about now, but since I don't buy alcohol these days, I'm making do with iced water instead :P). It's been raining on and off for most of the day, and the smell of it is thick in the air. So I am letting it in, and probably won't close the window until I wake up covered in mosquito bites.:D

And that is all for now. I have an exciting life, you see.;)

In other news - Happy Birthday, mellacita. I hope you have a great one. Take it easy and indulge yourself, for once.:)

It's that time of the month, again. *painful groan* I guess I should be glad that my periods are so mathematically regular right now - but the bad side to it is that they actually happen more often (they were frequently late before), and, what's even worse, they always come on a weekday.:/ And I only get 10 sick days per year at my workplace. While, in this kind of situation, I need 12 (or 13, considering the fact that I took two in April - one at the very beginning of the month, another one at the end). Besides, it's kind of embarrassing and difficult to try to come up with a different excuse for a sick day every month (yes, my boss is a woman, but I still don't feel comfortable telling her the real reason I need to stay in bed for most of the day - especially since I don't think I know anyone else who does; not at my workplace anyway). So this time I told a blatant lie about car trouble on the way to my parents' house, which supposedly forced me to stay there overnight and then wait for the car to get fixed before I could go back. I feel stupid and bad about it - I hate to lie and invent stories like that - but at least it saves me one sickie for later, because in this case I will be able to put it down as 'personal day' (of which I can have 3 per year). By the way, here is a question to the women on my flist who still suffer from this disgusting 'natural disaster' every month: do you need to take a sickie for it, or do you just grit your teeth and go to work/school/wherever else you're supposed to go that day?... And if you stay home because of it, do you tell your boss - or whoever else was expecting you somewhere - the real reason for your absence, or do you invent some other (less embarrassing?...) ailment or excuse?... I'm just curious. I also can't help thinking that in a matriarchal society, we would all get an official day off once a month, specifically for that purpose, and no one would be questioning its necessity. Or am I just a pathetic wimp, because some other women I know don't seem to care or suffer much during that time at all?... Opinions, anyone?

I suppose I had more to say, but I think I need to go lay down for a bit, again. *sigh*

Sooo tired. Been hanging out with the Anime Central crowd since yesterday. Headed over to the convention center in Rosemont right after work (it's about a five minute drive from my workplace, so it wouldn't have made any sense to go home first), then had dinner at the nearby Giordano's with akashaelfwitch, namarie120, helynhighwater, elvishlady09, jades_tempest, taelyn_sass and krazykitten46. It was great to see everyone again (or for the first time, in some cases... lol). I stayed to chat in one of their hotel rooms almost till midnight. Went over there again today to check out the dealers' room (thanks to my member's badge, kindly provided by Akasha), did some shopping at the Yaoi Press market stand (where else?... LOL), got a picture taken with my favorite European manga artists Dany & Dany (thanks, elvishlady09!), walked around a lot admiring people's costumes and generally soaking up the atmosphere etc.etc. I also took public transportation, since I didn't want to deal with having to find a parking spot with both the convention center itself and all nearby hotels packed to the limit, so I had to leave before 8 p.m. to catch the last bus home - but I was dead on my feet by then anyway.:) Oh, and this morning I also managed to pick up Viggo's latest book (Skovbo) from the post office (I just couldn't resist ordering it, despite the impressive price). I have only cursorily flipped though it so far, but some of the photos look drop-dead gorgeous. The man has talent and that's a fact.;D

I was also lucky enough to grab my first Netflix movie before someone stole it (yes, I just signed up for Netflix - I'm on free trial right now, so I'm not losing a penny even if the DVD's do disappear; and besides, it's cheaper than Blockbusters Online, so I decided to give it a shot anyway). And it's one I'm really looking forward to seeing (Atonement). It's long, though, so I'll probably watch it tomorrow. Right now I need to wind down, get another cup of soothing herbal tea and tumble into bed.:)

I can totally feel my leg muscles, btw, so I predict a very slow, relaxing day tomorrow.;) A long, indulgent bath, reading naughty comics, watching a good movie and trying out a new (hopefully delicious) oriental recipe. Mmmmm... life is good.:D

So... I am trying to make myself post something here every once in a while, just because I still care about some of the people who might actually read it... but the only thing I could come up with today, for some reason, is a bunch of old angsty poems. Don't really know why. I'm not horribly depressed or anything - just kind of pensive and, well... introvert (so what else is new, LOL). And it really bugs me that I don't seem to be able to write anymore... so I decided to console myself with translating stuff I had written years ago in another language. Just because I can - even if it has no bearing on anything going on in my life right now, and won't tell you anything you needed to know about me, besides the fact that I've had my share of unhappy and/or unhealthy relationships (which could be why I decided that reading slash is more fun, somehow). In a way, it also feels good to be so distanced from my own angst that I can treat it simply as an exercise in translation. Go me. Or whatever. *shrug*

( three poems under the cut )